Sunday, March 16, 2014

It's Not About The Torah

Israel's
Parliament passed legislation on Wednesday that paves the way for the military
conscription of the country's Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) male population.
Immediately following the vote, Haredi politicians and rabbis in Israel and the
United States denounced the new law as being "designed to severely limit the growth of Torah in the Holy
Land.”

They
accused the Israeli government of making a point of stripping ultra-Orthodox
Jews of their freedom to study Torah and lead an observant Jewish lifestyle. Moshe
Gafni, a member of Parliament from the Haredi Degel HaTorah party, even went so
far to say, "The state of
Israel has lost the right to call itself a Jewish and democratic state."

Please. Don't let these bearded, pious-looking
men fool you. This law is not about the freedom to learn Torah. Learning Torah
is still very much encouraged for people who are inclined to do so.

This law is about alleviating the burden shared
by the rest of Israeli Jewish society, both religious and secular, to serve in
the country's military. Israel has very real security concerns and the Haredi
population is genuinely needed.

Before I get trolled by someone who says I hate Haredim, I'd just like to point out that many Haredi people have been huge positive influencers in my life, including this rabbi on the left.

Currently, every Jewish Israeli man and woman
is obligated to serve in the country's military or to perform national service.
Except the ultra-Orthodox. Having ultra-Orthodox men (at least) serve will help
alleviate the burden shared by the rest of society and make the state of Israel
a freer place for all its citizens.

Haredim respond that the Torah learning and
prayers of their followers are doing just as much to keep the country safe as
those serving in the military. This perspective is first and foremost extremely
condescending to the men and women who put their lives on the line. Secondly,
there are numerous references in the Torah as well as the Talmud that obligate
Jewish men to physically take up arms in order to keep the people of Israel
safe from harm.

Haredi rabbis and politicians are arousing
panic over this new law and Israeli society's refusal tolerate their lack of
conscription because they are afraid of losing the absolute power and influence
they hold over Israel's fastest growing demographic, which now makes up 10% of
Israel's population.

Through a combination of political wheeling and
dealing over the past few decades, Haredi leaders have managed to build a
completely insular society that makes it extremely difficult for people to
exercise outside thought or leave.

Most Haredi schools fail to teach secular
subjects such as mathematics and English after primary school, leaving Haredim
unable to compete in the professional job market later on. Haredim are
pressured to marry extremely young and to have large families. When Haredi men
reach draft age, they remain in their yeshiva (Jewish study) framework full
time and are encouraged to stay there indefinitely rather than work. Today less
than 40% of Haredi men have employment of any kind.

The result of this system is that most Haredi
families are poverty-stricken and live off government welfare and are entirely
dependent on the good graces of their community leaders.

Without a basic secular education, formal job
training, history of military service, non-Haredi personal connections, and
with a large family in tow, most Haredim have no choice but to remain in the
sub-society to which they were born.

If Haredi men serve in the military, they will
be one step closer to getting an education, full-time employment, and, of course, regular
interaction with non-Haredi people. The Haredi belief system and lifestyle will
be on full display in the marketplace of ideas and Haredi people will be free
to choose what and why they believe.

The
Israeli government putting priority on Haredi male military conscription is
simply one step towards getting Haredim into the workforce and enabling them to
fend for themselves, so that the nation's taxpayers (like me) don't have to. It
sets forward priorities to ensure that Israel will remain a truly free liberal
society where people are able to believe and disbelieve what they choose. It is
important to note that the political party that sponsored the legislation, the
Jewish Home party, is a religious party.

The
Haredi population's fast growth means that if the situation is not rectified in
the coming years, it will take a serious toll on Israel's defense capabilities
and economy.

The
study of Torah and the embrace of Jewish values is core to Israel's identity.
However, it is crucial to not give in when Haredi politicians and demagogues
manipulate their meaning to serve their own ends.

Israel's
new draft law is an important step towards equality in Israeli society and the
advancement of Haredi and non-Haredi people alike.

Friday, March 14, 2014

Why the Moroccan Parliament’s attempts to outlaw contact with Israel are not the will of the people.

The Moroccan Parliament
is considering two bills that would criminalize any association or business
dealings with Israel.

Five political parties
including the leading Islamic Justice and Development Party, offered the bills
in November 2013.The bills would
ban Israelis from traveling to Morocco and prohibit Moroccans from dealing
directly or indirectly with Israeli organizations and business. Failure by
Moroccan citizens to comply with the proposed laws could result in heavy fines
and even jail time.

Pressure is creeping up
on the moderate King Mohammed VI to put an end to the discussion.

If the bills pass, there
is a strong likelihood that King Mohammed VI will indeed exercise his veto to
prevent them from becoming law. The King has very progressive views on
relations with Jews and Israel. He has provided government resources to restore
synagogues, recognized Jewish contributions to Moroccan identity, and
maintained active relations with Israel.

However, if the King
does indeed come to the rescue and prevent a breakdown in Morocco’s relations
with Israel and global Jewry, it will likely be viewed as yet another example
of a moderate Arab leader overriding the will of his people to maintain
strategic diplomatic and military relationships with western states.

This would be a grave
mistake in perception. I traveled to Morocco for two weeks in January and was
very open about being an Israeli Jew. What I found was more than openness, but
true acceptance.Following this
experience, I can attest that I’ve never encountered citizens of an Arab
country as welcoming and open to my nationality and religious background as the
Moroccan people.

My friend David (who I traveled with) in the Mellah in Sefrou, which is basically one hot mess.

Throughout Morocco, the mellahs, or Jewish quarters, of
major cities are some of the most prominent attractions. Synagogues,
cemeteries, and old buildings with Hebrew writing inscribed on them are kept in
impeccable condition. Unlike other Arab countries with an abundance of Jewish
sites (Egypt and Syria for example) tourists need not fear asking locals for
help in finding them.This is
because these sites are considered just as Moroccan as they are Jewish.

Me with the Muslim woman and son who takes care of the synagogue in Sefrou, northern Morocco. They pray for peace between Jews and Muslims.

Speaking with everyday Moroccans
in shops, cafes, and restaurants, I was surprised by people’s knowledge of
Israel and their lack of hostility. Members of a Muslim family that maintain
the old synagogue in Sefrou were aware that Israel had experienced a great deal
of war, but told me she prayed for peace “speedily in our days.”

In Fez, a young
engineering student I met in a shopping mall explained he’d read books about
the Jewish religion and people. He said the books he read were widespread. To
prove it, he took me to two different bookstores and found the very books he
was talking about.

Even amongst people with
very little formal education I found a genuine openness.While camping in the Sahara desert near
Merzouga in a Berber tent, I asked a couple of the tour operators where they
were from.

Berber tribesmen I met in the Sahara told me they were from Tel Aviv. They were joking.

“Tel Aviv,” they
answered jokingly. With a smirk, I asked them where in Tel Aviv they lived.
They made up some gibberish answer and started laughing, but then recounted
every single Hebrew phrase they knew from working with Israeli tourists, most
of which, as expected, were highly inappropriate.

Furthermore, I learned
that Moroccans believe that being Jewish can make it easier to sell as well. A
number of shopkeepers who peddled Jewish artifacts claimed to be Jewish in
order to prove more authentic and to win my business. After asking a few basic
questions about the Jewish religion, it became clear they were not.

One shopkeeper tried to
convince me that his mother lived in Tel Aviv. He showed me a picture of
himself supposedly with his mother in her Tel Aviv home. After a close look,
however, it was clear the woman and her children were European tourists of some
kind and that the picture had been taken in that man’s actual shop. Still, it
was interesting to see that he thought his being Jewish would be endearing to
tourists.

A basic conclusion I
drew from my visit was that it’s not just the Moroccan King who favors
maintaining relations with Israel and the wider Jewish world. Many ordinary
Moroccans have positive views of Jewish people and of Israel, or at the very
least are ignorant to both and not overtly hostile. The Moroccan Parliament’s
efforts to pass anti-Israel measures are nothing more than an attempt to divert
attention away from domestic troubles that Parliament members remain unable to
solve.

Morocco suffers
tremendous wealth differential between rich and poor, extreme corruption, and
high youth unemployment – areas the Moroccan Parliament has failed to make
progress on.

If King Mohammed VI does
choose to veto the passage of the Parliament’s anti-Israel measures, it should
be known that he will be doing so not as an absolute monarch, but as a
representative of the people’s will.

About Me!

My name is Michael Bassin and I am not a spy. Despite my insistence, people continue to be suspicious of me. Syrian border policemen, Emirati sheikhs, Kurdish businessmen, Israeli army officers, African warlords, and women I meet at bars with way too much imagination are fairly convinced I'm not who I say I am.

In reality, I am an international business development professional and writer based in Tel Aviv. A former columnist on Arab affairs for the Times of Israel newspaper, I have traveled to over sixty countries and written extensively on my experiences.

I am the author of the book "I Am Not A Spy: An American Jew's Odyssey Through The Arab World & Israeli Army." The book chronicles my life as an openly Jewish student living and traveling in the Arab world and serving in the Israeli army as a combat Arabic translator in the West Bank.